After 343 Industries, the developer for Halo 5: Guardians, announced at this year's E3 that the game would have a microtransactions system, many gamers grew concerned and even became angry.
Halo 5: Guardians features a Requisition System, which allows players to use something called REQ points in the game's multiplayer Arena and Warzone. Each time players participate in either the Arena or Warzone, they earn points that they can later spend on packs with new weapons and armor.
However, 343 Industries also announced that players can buy these REQ points, suggesting that players with money to burn get an unfair advantage over players who can't afford (or refuse to buy) the points necessary for gaining these packs.
The announcement was so controversial that 343 Industries recently took to their blog to explain the system and placate gamers upset about it.
"While players will earn REQ Packs across both Arena and Warzone, only cosmetic items can be used in our Arena experience," writes Halo 5 development head Josh Holmes. "This is to ensure that all players start with the same weapons and abilities as part of our vision for the balanced, competitive play in Arena multiplayer."
For Warzone, though, Holmes stated that the idea of REQ points was not to give an unfair advantage to those gamers who pay for the experience, but to give gamers more "variety and choice in how they play." All Warzone experiences get a level assigned to them: that level determines which items from REQ packs are available for use in those matches. For example, if a Warzone level is 30, but a player bought level 40 gear with REQ points, then that player can't use that particular gear in that specific match.
If it all sounds a little confusing, that's because it is. Microtransactions, in general, don't sit well with many gamers because it often means that gamers with money to spend on such things end up doing better in those games than others. In multiplayer, that's especially a problem because multiplayer modes usually pit gamers against each other.
Also, 323 Industries' blog post doesn't address many issues that plague these microtransactions. There's no mention of how easy or difficult it is to earn REQ points. There is also no mention of how much the REQ packs will cost. Finally, players need to know that those earning points can still compete fairly with players who pay for them.
"The REQ System is designed to generously reward players with a steady stream of content to keep gameplay fresh," writes Holmes. "We'll be continuing to release new REQ content, post launch, so there are always new toys to play with."
There is good news, though: part of the money received through the microtransactions will go towards prize pools for the Halo Championship Series.
Halo 5: Guardians becomes available in October, 2015.
Photo Credit: 323 Industries
